Ideas out loud

Decorating the Christmas tree - pt. 2

2011-12-22T22:03:00.001+01:00

Tree decoration time.

2011-12-22T21:54:00.001+01:00

Swcph

2011-11-18T20:01:00.001+01:00

Taken at SWCPH

Close of play in Abu dhabi - now have to wait for a 1AM flight.

2011-11-02T15:11:00.001+01:00

Enjoying the last sunny day of the fall.

2011-09-25T16:09:00.001+02:00

Taken at Torvehallerne

We're been running for 5 hours now...

2011-08-03T09:00:00.001+02:00

What you need to search before going for a 100km run.

Keep sending the virtual cheers!!!

See the full gallery on Posterous

Touch down in Ulaanbaatar - don't drink the fart gas

2011-07-29T16:59:00.001+02:00

Well, after a couple of delays and some long hours on the plane we finally landed in ulaanbaatar, mongolia's capital, comprising of 1.3 million people - roughly the same size as Copenhagen. Although it's slightly different, as one would expect, and the capital lies somewhat between old soviet designed buildings and Athens, with a twist of Asia blended in. Tourists are the few, and every time you see a pair you feel like saying g'day, because for the most part we are definitely the strangers in these parts.

First order of the day was to find our accommodation which wasn't quite the luxurious digs we were wishing for. As you can see from the picture taken from our window and the sign on our door, we're not staying in the Hilton tonight. :-)

Anyway, being somewhat jet lagged and having my brain feeling like it's hung over without any of the fun of alcohol, and because we've been eating 10 meals on the plane at random times and with no seeming correlation to land based meal times, our stomachs can't decide what to eat. Word to the wise if anyone recommends sparkling water from Mongolia (see label) run to the hills, it seriously tastes of fart gas - in other words not cool.

However, I have to say that ulaanbaatar has a gorgeous city square and the people have been really friendly and helpful. Tomorrow, we rendezvous with the rest of the mentally insane running fraternity and head north up to lake khövsgöl nuur, up near the Russian border. Where we'll spend a couple of days relaxing before throwing on the joggers and heading off for a little run in the park. :-)

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A little last minute packing...

2011-07-27T21:46:00.001+02:00

So on the eve of our departure to Ulanbaataar, mongolia everything is being laid out, checked and double checked. Now just have to squeeze all this into one bag that weighs less than 20 kg. Lets hope no luggage gets lost in any of flight transfers. Cross your fingers and wish us luck.

Just over a week until the race!

2011-07-25T23:37:00.001+02:00

So the time is nigh and with only two more days until our departure the nerves are slowly creeping in. 100 KM - that's more than twice the distance either of us have ever run in a single outing, and all within an 18 hour cutoff! Let's hope that the many hours spent at CrossFit combined with a whole winters worth of sunday mornings with the Sparta crew and the Copenhagen Marathon training session will be enough to get us over the line.

Now it's down to the finer details of making sure that we have all the necessary odds'n ends sorted, ticked-off, and packed ready to go. As well as all lucky charms, good-luck thingys and whatever else we can imagine we'll need over the course of the race week. There's an amazing amount of stuff that you have to take with you to complete a 100km race, some of which is quite boring i.e. travel insurance all the way to ultra-light rain gear, and head torches (race starts at 4am). Luckily for me I can transfer my Apple fanboy obsession straight over to adventure racing with my new brand of choice being North Face, would be much more fun and slightly cheaper if I was sponsored by them, but that'll have to wait a couple of more races. Now after buying all the cool kit, I have to manage to place it all in one bag which is allowed to way a maximum of 20 kg (which must include hand luggage).

For those that are interested this is the race packing list:

1.5 Litre Camelpak - Running backpack
Running shoes (Vibram 5 Fingers / Ecco Biom)
Headlamp (race starts at 4AM)
Compass + Map
Pen + Paper (this is your emergency kit - you write down your emergency and then pass the paper to the next runner to take forward to the medical crew) :)
Rain pants + Jacket
1st Aid Kit
Electrolytes + peanuts + gummy bears + m&ms + energy bar
Cap + sunscreen
Camera
Vaseline
Running shorts + T-shirt
Girlfriend (luckily Zenia is self-supported and doesn't have to be carried)

Let the packing begin!

Little do they know, but these shoes are about clock up 100km in less than 18hrs #Mongolia #ultramarathon

2011-07-10T15:40:00.001+02:00

How to kill a Sunday - go for a 50km run out to dyrehaven - and yes we did get wet.

2011-07-03T18:39:00.001+02:00

Last save 4 hours ago #worklost #bugger

2011-05-11T16:33:00.001+02:00

Setting up and using Adwords

2011-01-17T23:09:00.001+01:00

Doing a little deep diving into the dark and mysterious world of Google Adwords - First step Adwords for Dummies - Kindle Edition. Let the fun begin!

Posted via email from Gus Murray

Here comes Podio - Out of stealth mode and ready for work!

2010-09-03T13:39:00.001+02:00

Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!

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Today Podio was officially launched, via invitation, and has already begun gaining significant attention in the press with articles in Techcrunch Europe and other local Danish business media magazine Børsen news is spreading quickly. This afternoon, they will be holding a launch party which includes a change in name, annoucement of a new CEO - Tommy Ahlers, and fresh round of investment.

In the Techcrunch article Podio has been described as ‘Facebook for Companies’ which in my humble opinion is paying undeserved complements to Facebook and underplaying the role that Podio can potentially play in our working lives. Podio plays on three workplace trends: Perceived Control, Perceived Progress and Connectedness.

Podio provides users with an overview of what’s happening in their team, organization, etc. and by combining key work functions into the one place the users gain a sense of perceived control. With constant streams of information hitting us from all sides i.e. updates, emails, invitations, project flows, etc. it is nice to have an overview which places all this things in on central location.

With the majority of us are looking to master a skill that enables us to perform tasks more efficiently and / or in a superior manner to others. Podio, allows users to build their own apps and skill over time, starting with something as simple as a meeting agenda and moving towards a CRM system. The ability to learn and grow gives the user a sense of progress.

Finally, Podio like others before it, allows users to connect to others, what separates Podio from many others is the ability to connect with people ‘contextually’. Meaning that users are connected to each other through the project, team or organization that they share. This feature creates sense-making for users allowing them to better maintain ‘contextual’ connections, like tagging but just with all the work history, conversations etc. included.

Finally, although the word "social" has been thrown around a little to often, with "innovative" coming in at a close second, and not putting down other start-ups in the same field, Podio has a talented team, traction and the vision to be a key contender in this growing sector. One to look out for.

If you looking for an invitation, hit-me-up via twitter or go to www.podio.com for an invite.

Look forward to hearing your thoughts?

Wetoku :: New way to record & share two-way conversations online

2010-07-01T22:43:00.005+02:00

via wetoku.com

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Wetoku is a new play on how you can "Meet-Record-Share" conversations online and then post it to your twitter, facebook or website to share with your customers, fans, followers etc.

Founded by serial entrepreneur David Lee in Seoul, South Korea, Wetoku is getting some great press and street cred by being nominated in events such as Mashable's Open Web Awards as well as reviews by Geeks On A Plane, Read/Write Web and Asia 2.0.

Wetoku aims to lower the barriers to users having two way conversations / interviews online. Meaning that anyone with a webcam can chat to another and have it broadcasted in realtime and recorded for embedding later to a blog. Nice simple, no downloads necessary video tool.

Clever marketing - Rethinking the t-shirt | Dutch Football Federation - 2010 FIFA World Cup

2010-07-01T22:43:00.003+02:00

via thecoolhunter.net

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As TCH puts it - "Genius idea". Nuff said.

Colorless with green creditials.

2010-07-01T22:43:00.001+02:00

via behance.net

Here's a minimal mockup of how the iconic classic coke, in a can, could look. Not only does it look awesome, as you can read below, the removal of the color paint in both the production and recycling process reduces the amount of energy needed to create the can.

A convex logo substitutes colorfully sprayed can. The naked can helps to reduce air and water pollution which typically occurs during the coloring process. It also reduces the energy and effort to separate the toxic color paint from aluminum during the recycling process. Huge amounts of energy and paint required to manufacture the colored cans will be saved. Instead of toxic paint, manufacturers process aluminum with a pressing machine that indicates the brand identity on surface.

Simple and elegant, what other products could we apply a similar process or mindset too, which would create interest while saving our environment?

Thermoelectric wellies that charge your mobile phone using heat from your feet

2010-07-01T22:42:00.001+02:00

via gotwind.org

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Those of us that have become accustomed to seeing some neat mobile phone gadgets for the festival season won't be disappointed as this year Orange, in partnership with Gotwind, have created a eco-powered gumboots / wellies.

These festival goers best friend use the heat generated by your feet to charge your mobile phone, via their unique 'Power Generating Sole'. So now you can party all day / night in your boots, come back to your tent plug in your mobile phone and charge it up. A must have for any festival goers this season!

Look whats coming...| iPad iMagineering - Penguin Books

2010-03-14T17:44:00.001+01:00

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Apple is about to launch their newest toy, the iPad and after watching the ads on their home page you start to get a glimpse into the far reaching possibilities of these devices. Amazon's Kindle has been the market leader to date on the eReaders but the new iPad takes interacting with content to a whole new level. Not only is the iPad a device that follows Apple's clean lines and aesthetically pleasing design, it also changes the way we interact with their programs that users are familiar with on the Mac OS X i.e. mail, iWork, iLife etc. etc. and they have changed the way users interact with these programs as well, due to the interactive and hands-on nature of the device i.e. sans keyboard and mouse cue gestures.

The real brilliance of the this device, which will be launched in the beginning of April, is that it won't just be for those of us closet geeks and fanboys. The iPad has the potential to reach every corner of society in one of many ways, including many different aspects i.e. reading, learning, communicating, game playing, and many many more which I cannot possibly imagine and will leave up to numerous app developers out there.
This video from Penguin, does however, give us a glimpse into the future of how books will be consumed and how learning is about to change and become much more interactive and engaging. Maybe Apple's iPad won't be the clear winner but combined with the ever growing app store and close tie in with the itunes ecosystem it's going to be terribly hard to knock this iThing off the top post. I for one are looking forward to the fun of playing with it.

What about you...?

New toilet / sink combo for Copenhagen Apartments | Eco-iconic toilet reuses sink's wastewater

2010-02-10T22:52:00.001+01:00

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Combining both function and eco-friendly design, the Spanish Innovation Lab - Roca, has created a neat L-shaped sink and toilet combo. By combining the two elements of a bathroom house owners can save a significant 25% of the water that is normally used in the bathroom.

This would be great for some of the older buildings in Europe which have small apartments with smaller bathrooms and with this unit you save some serious space. Only obstacle is the EUR 2,731 price tag that comes with it.

None the less it's a great example of using design to solve everyday problems i.e. space and waste water. Two thumbs up to the Spanish!

New toilet / sink combo for Copenhagen Apartments | Eco-iconic toilet reuses sink's wastewater

2010-02-10T22:32:00.001+01:00

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None the less it's a great example of using design to solve everyday problems i.e. space and waste water. Two thumbs up to the Spanish!

Ever wanted to listen to music while you vacuumed? | Electrolux UltraSilencer - Music Edition

2010-01-20T15:49:00.001+01:00

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Those craze Swedes are at it again, in a place far, far, away Electrolux has been testing the effects of music on your cleaning habits, specifically - vacuuming. What they found was that with music your the following happens:
- Hip movements.
- More calories burned.
- Hard rock got the job done faster.
- Jazz made people more thorough.

They even made a video of vacuuming to music just add an iPod!

For all of us that dislike vacuuming our apartments, this would sure make it a lot more fun and enjoyable. This would be one iPod accessory that I would love to see in the apple store. One to try out...

Your Mind, A Wild Monkey | Ommwriter - for those of us that love to write

2010-01-05T19:48:00.001+01:00

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A new approach to an old problem; how to write without the distraction of emails, facebook messages, tweets and various other things jumping up and down vying for our attention. Well it seems, in the theme of Zen, that Ommwriter has taken up the challenge and created a text processor that is as elegant as it is simple.

Ommwriter was originally developed by the creative agency Herraiz Soto & Co. for their copywriters and is a free text processor that uses both visual and sound based elements to help writers focus their thoughts. It's core audience is bloggers, journalists, copywriters and anyone else that just enjoys writing without distraction.

So go grab your laptop, throw on some headphones and start typing away. Ommwriter is currently available (in a beta version) for Mac computers, just click on the link above to read more or download your own free version.

The first & coolest street legal E-motorbike | GRACE

2009-12-16T11:18:00.001+01:00

via grace.de

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The coolest street legal E-motorbike I have seen, Grace sets the bench mark for electric bikes at a new high. Manufactured in Germany and featuring 1300 watts of power with a top speed of 45 km/h, these bikes will hit the streets sometime mid 2010. Each bike contains parts from both Formula 1 and the Euro Fighter making this one high tech piece of green transport, which will give any rider significant bragging rights and cool factor. This is before we mention the fully customizable colors and hand made fabrication specifically made for each rider, no wonder a $8000+ USD price tag is attached. So get your orders in quickly as this will be the next must have personal transport device in 2010.

Need a makeover for your office? | IdeaPaint - turn virtually anything into a dry-erase surface

2009-12-16T10:10:00.001+01:00

via ideapaint.com

Here's a great product that allows you to transform your office or home into a giant whiteboard. Ideapaint is a DIY paint product that allows you to create dry-erase surfaces virtually anywhere, we made our own white board in our last office but if this had been around I guarantee you that our office space would have taken on a whole new look. Great for those of us that are visual and like to communicate through drawings, charts, diagrams and mindmaps. Anyone used this? Would love to hear some stories or pictures.

Driptech | A low cost and affordable approach to a high cost industry

2009-11-23T11:22:00.001+01:00

via driptech.com

Driptech, a small startup started by a young guy in the US is now helping people on the other side of the planet create a new sustainable irrigation system. Traditionally, irrigation systems are extremely expensive and limited to industrial farms of the Western World, however Driptech has found a cheap and reliable way for farmers in India & China to grow crops with the benefits of drip irrigation at a price that is affordable to these farmers.

This system may not just be for farmers in the developing nations either as a lot of small farms in the US, Canada and Australia, for example, could do with some lost cost solutions to better watering practices and more sustainable agriculture. Drip irrigation is especially relevant to places like Australia that are primarily arid and very weather dependent.

gamfratesi | Rewrite | Study Desk

2009-11-22T15:20:00.001+01:00

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Wish they had these when I was studying at University, the 'Rewrite' is the product of the Danish Design studio GamFratesi. The first of our Discover Denmark TED companies, this Design studio created the Rewrite with the idea of creating a working environment that isolates the user from outside noises and distractions. The cave like enclosure is made of a textile which futher increases the noise reducing capabilities and allows the user better concentrating and shielding options. With a box underneath that hides all the cables etc. it's quite a nice option for home study desk or office in a small Copenhagen apartment. I like.

Rechargeable battery "eneloop" gets a design makeover | Sanyo

2009-11-22T14:31:00.001+01:00

via jp.sanyo.com

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Sanyo gives rechargeable batteries a design makeover. The snoopy look alike battery checker has a nose that changes color depending on the status of the battery to be charged. Unfortunately, this is only going to be produced in limited numbers and only in Japan. But on the plus it's great to see a product like the battery getting a little bit of design lovin. On another level, since the explosion in use of the ipod and other itoys when was the last time you actually used a pair of AA batteries?

Breakfast on the Bridge in Sydney « Flickr Blog

2009-11-03T16:36:00.001+01:00

via blog.flickr.net

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Cool marketing events | Breakfast on the Sydney Harbour Bridge | an initiative run by the Tourism Board for New South Wales (Australia) was recently held on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which showcased the Aussie outdoor lifestyle and some yummy produce. The event relied on similar viral elements to that of "The greatest job in the world" campaign by Tourism Queensland, held a lottery for 6,000 winners who could participate in this cool event, transforming the giant coathanger into a great big lawn to picnic on. Recently there have been some rather interesting campaigns of late that involve the rest of us i.e. T-Mobile recent Liverpool station ad Life's for .

The interactive and engaging nature of these campaigns really help increase their viral nature with so many people taking photos, sending text messages, videos etc and telling others about it, it's hard not to have a viral impact and at the same time making people smile. :)

Anyone have any others?

Update | Looking for a healthy alternative to regular vending machine food?

2009-10-18T20:36:00.001+02:00

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We've all wanted to eat healthily, but rarely does good healthy food come in a convenient form when and where you want it, think office or school. Well it seems that's all about to change, a Spanish company (www.lofresco.es) has introduced a vending machine that supplies organic fruit, nuts, ready meals and a Spanish soup called gazpacho. Sounds good and hopefully will be expanding to other countries soon.

Seems that vending machines are far from dead and new products are constantly being delivered through them.

Has anyone else seen other products, who traditionally went through other channels, use vending machines?

For those consumers that like to support their local growers but aren't so keen about the availability of the products through retail supply chains, a German firm is selling their wares through vending machines. These vending machines allow consumers to access these locally grown produce 24/7 and require only a roof and some electricity. By cutting out the middleman farmers are able to offer consumers a more convenient and discounted product while freeing up the farmers to do what they do best. Currently, the vending machinges sell fresh milk, eggs, butter, cheese, potatoes and sausage in thirteen German towns and communities.

Anyone seen anything like this in your neck of the woods?

Looking for a healthy alternative to regular vending machine food? Lofresco.es

2009-10-07T11:58:00.001+02:00

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Seems that vending machines are far from dead and new products are constantly being delivered through them.

Has anyone else seen other products, who traditionally went through other channels, use vending machines?

Now we're talking, helping us find & pay for our Starbucks Coffee

2009-09-29T22:14:00.001+02:00

Just when you think you've given up faith in the app store and your ability to even discover 1/100 of the apps apparently on sale in Apple's App Store, Starbucks has created two new apps. The first one - titled myStarbucks - enables you to locate the nearest Starbucks, search their amenities i.e. baby change room etc., make your virtual drink, food item and see the story behind the different blends / roasts etc. The second app - Starbucks Card Mobile - is a virtual payment card where you can check your balance, reload it and pay for your coffee using a quick response code.

Now for the sad news, at the moment the apps are only available in the US and I believe only on the West Coast (Seattle & Bay Area) for now with the idea of being rolled out nationally. I think it's a brilliant duo of apps that drives both customers to the nearest stores with simpler and quicker point-of-sale transactions, not to mention 2 hours free wireless internet access (more online eyeballs and incentive to stay in the stores) as well as the possibility to download music, playing in the store, from iTunes. Most importantly, at the end of the day it solves everyones nagging problem "where's my nearest Starbucks?".

Look forward to seeing more apps like this from other companies and stores.

Now we're talking, helping us find & pay for our Starbucks Coffee

2009-09-29T22:11:00.001+02:00

Look forward to seeing more apps like this from other companies and stores.

Humans trump computers for a good cause | reCAPTCHA: Stop Spam, Read Books

2009-09-21T10:07:00.001+02:00

via recaptcha.net

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Computers it seems cannot do everything, just as yet, especially when it comes to interpreting scanned books or other old texts. So to make up for this discrepancy Luis von Ahn, founder of Captchas (those little word puzzles used to distinguish between humans and spam bots, see above) created ReCaptcha. ReCaptcha takes words from decaying old newspapers and other texts that computers can’t read and lets people identify them, and in doing so proving that they are, in fact, people.

Mr. Ahn calls this “human computation” — using human brainpower to help computers solve problems they can’t solve on their own. The New York Times, for one, has used ReCaptcha to help scan its 150-years-deep archives. And Google has worked with Mr. Ahn before to harness human intelligence, with its Image Labeler, a game in which Internet users compete to add descriptive tags to photographs, which ends up making those photos more identifiable and searchable in Google’s index. (Trendbird)

ReCaptcha is available for both signing up for an online service but for also protecting your email from being identified by spam bots on your website and eliminating the need for such messy methods as gus (at) email . com. A clever little tool, so if you have a blog, website or sign-in page that needs some form of verification of humanness, why not help out a good cause and digitize books at the same time.

Anyone know of any other examples of human computation?

Mike Michalowicz | The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur | Copenhagen DK #TPE #Startup #Entrepreneur

2009-09-15T00:11:00.001+02:00

Today I was able to go see Mike Michalowicz aka the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur (blog), in Copenhagen (DK), talk to a group of entrepreneurs / people working with entrepreneurs. At first impression he is could be mistaken as being arrogant and full of himself, but on closing inspection he's just has a great passion for what he does and has the self confidence and self belief to keep doing it in the only way he knows how, as the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur.

Like some of Mikes blog posts he comes across as a little rough around the edges and unprepared, but his presentation had some good points and examples that reaffirm some of the things you do as an entrepreneur. Below are his 10 tips for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

1. Blending

Mike gives the example of The Commerce Bank who's owner Vernon Hill incorporated his insights from his days as an owner of Burger King franchises to the banking industry i.e. extending opening hours, and other service orientated elements
Take Away: Don't be afraid to take ideas from other industries and apply them to your own.

2. Area of Innovation

Understand your area of Innovation and don't compete with others i.e. Walmart and price
Take away: Focus on one area and innovate the hell out of it

3. Be the 'est'est

You always remember or recall those who are the b'est', high'est', rud'est', fast'est', you get the picture
Take away: Make sure your business dominates and is the est'est' of your industry, city, etc. because no one remembers who came second to Michael Phelps in the Bejing Olympics, but we all sure as heck know who Michael Phelps is. Ask yourself what are we best at?

4. Under promise / Under Deliver

Mike gives the example of a company of his that promises a delivery time of 4 weeks even though they usually can produce the good in less than a week. However, when they call up the customer and tell them that their product will be arriving 3 weeks early you can imagine their surprise and happiness for the news. Think they'll tell other people about that service...? You bet! This even works in the scenario that something goes wrong in production and it takes 3 weeks, the customer still gets his product a week early and is still really happy.
Take Away: Customers expectations are the only thing you can control, so make sure you manage them to be in your favour. Can you change your terms of service, delivery date, etc. to surprise your customers?

5. Port of Entry

Mike gives the example of New Jersey, which is apparently quite a pretty state but unknown to most as the 'port of entry' from NY gives tourists a horrible impression of being a highly industrial and dirty state.
Take Away: Make sure your customers first impression of your 'port of entry' is the one that is congruent with the message you want to communicate. i.e. website, culture, business cards, dress, phone answering etc. How does your 'port of entry' look?

6. Paredo Principal

The 80/20 rule is a great way for you to take what works from other companies, competitors, industries etc to your own. i.e. take 20% of those things that work really well for your competitor and apply it to your own business, product, service etc.
Take Away: 80% of the results will come from 20% of the effort made to your business so make sure you get the 20% right.

7. Polarize People

Don't be afraid to polarize people, you may upset/offend 90% of the population but 10% will be your greatest fans and love the fact that the other 90% don't get it. Polarizing causes people to have opinions and take sides, either way their talking about your company and the more they talk the more likely it will convert to sales.
Take Away: Don't be afraid to be 'extreme'! Ask yourself what is your "outrageous claim"?

8. Go Outside your industry

In researching how to make his book The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur a best seller, Mike got an idea from the cleaning indsutry, which was to put a phone number on the back of the book next to the barcode, something that all cleaning products have on their label. Sounds strange but it resulted in Mike having an extra 10% in sales.
Take Away: Don't hang out with your own peers with similar problems at the same industry workshops / conferences etc. go check another industry and their ideas etc for some inspiration and get a little edge on your competitors as none of them will be there.

9. Leapfrogging

Mike tells the case about how Blockbuster then Netflix made massive improvements to their industry to change the rules of the game i.e. offering more videos than the competition (Blockbuster) and now Netflix offers more latest release movies that you can keep for as long as you like.
Take Away: What massive improvements can you make to the industry standard or service, delivery, distribution etc.

10. Always do what's unexpected

When The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur was first published, Barnes and Noble didn't want to stock it on their shelves, so Mike and his team did something a little unexpected, they snuck books into the store placing them on the shelves. You can imagine the surprise of the customers who tried to buy the book and to the staff that tried to tell them that it wasn't stocked by them. Must have been an interesting conversation.
Take Away: Don't do what everyone else is doing, do something that is unexpected, worst case you'll get some attention and make people talk about you. Ask yourself what could we do that wouldn't be expected?

One of the things I like best about Mike's presentation and tips for the rest of us is that they are extremely practical and down to earth, no fancy theory just plain simple things that all of us can apply. So if you don't get a chance to hear Mike grab a copy of his book The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, it's one of the top business books sold in 2009.

Simple & Easy Online Event Management tool | Amiando.com

2009-09-08T16:57:00.001+02:00

via amiando.com

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If you looking to arrange an event that involves selling tickets (or even unpaid) Amiando offers a one-stop-shop for all of your online event management needs. They have several products which include a free (tester), a pay per ticket and a pay per person version to suit the size and type of event that you are holding. The free version is a little redundant with Facebook events, however is you are looking to create a nice website with URL, manage registration and analyze the attendance etc. then this seems to hit the mark. One to remember when your creating your next big event.

Testing out PicPosterous iPhone app

2009-09-08T13:11:00.001+02:00

Friday Funny | Strip Tea / Tea Bags |

2009-08-28T15:13:00.001+02:00

via donkey-products.de

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Some funny little tea bags for you aunty may! Enjoy

Breakfast Cereal Zen | Premium Cornflakes | Minimalist Packaging

2009-08-27T10:00:00.001+02:00

via cscoutjapan.com

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Some more minimalistic design, this time on the packaging of Japanese Cornflakes. Spotted by Michael Keferl in Japan, where he explains that most products are competing for eyeballs through the use of big fonts and bright colors whereas these cornflakes do exactly the opposite and attain the desired effect, premium prices and people writing about them all over the blog sphere. :) Anyone have any other examples?

Less is more, so if it doesn't add anything, get rid of it |

2009-08-26T12:42:00.001+02:00

via garry.posterous.com

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A great example of the power of simplicity, if it doesn't add to the message get rid of it. As Garry says “Un-clutter, Simplify, Reduce“. more and more we are seeing the reduction of 'noise' and a movement in the direction of more minimalistic and zen like principals. This goes for anything from product and architectural design, just look at anything designed in Denmark, to presentation and communication techniques, see anything by Garr Reynolds (http://www.presentationzen.com). One of the driving forces behind Cutting-Out-The-Clutter, I believe, is the time pressure placed upon all of us and even more so now than ever with the increasing number of demands from being constantly “online“ and “available“ i.e. connected. Our need to maintain our relationships with family, friends, loved ones, and colleagues has meant that we have less time and more distractions than ever before. Meaning that any product, service or technology that increases complexity or demands more of our attention to understand its message is going to go the way of the dinosaur. Less-is-more, believe it - be it.

Nice Co-branding | Doritos presents a Blink-182 and Big Boi Virtual Music Experience.

2009-08-20T00:17:00.003+02:00

Website: ticketmaster.com

A cool co-branding concept where Doritos chips are sponsoring a Blink-182 web concert for the launch of their new . To get a ticket you need two things: A web camera and a pack of late night Doritos chips. With possibilities of positioning Doritos in front of the Blink-182 fans it's sure to be a good combination and worthy viral campaign.

Secrets of Simplicity: rules for being simple and usable (Giles Colborne)

2009-08-20T00:17:00.001+02:00

via slideshare.net

Great presentation on the secrets of simplicity by Giles Colborne. Giles comes from a web design and user interface point of view, but I think his points are valid for presenting as well:
1. Remove Features (cut down the noise / clutter)
2. Hide Features (does everything need to be on your slide?)
3. Group Features (chunk your information for easier consumption)
4. Displace Features (can you use images to place the story in their minds)

The other part of this presentation that I really like, apart from the content, is the style which Giles uses. His slides are not cluttered with bullet points, lists or clip art but rather quotes, images, and statements. To compensate for having no audio he uses post-it note like stickers on the slides for the viewer to read. All in all a killer presentation.

Tell me what your thoughts are...

Posted via web from Killer Presentations

Wear your heart | Buy a t-shirt - make a difference | OneTribe

2009-08-18T11:36:00.001+02:00

via onetribe.com

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Here's a new online t-shirt store with a little more of a social edge than most. OneTribe offers different t-shirts which go to, currently, five different causes. So you get a exclusively designed organic tee where half of your purchase goes towards the cause of your choice. Each of the t-shirts, rather than some random image or graphic design, display the cause that you have supported and thereby spreading the love. The more you wear the tee, the more others can see what causes you support, so you can wear your heart on your sleeve.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Street Theatre in Blågårdsgade, Copenhagen

2009-08-15T23:43:00.001+02:00

Some cool street theatre in my street, titled La Marea by Mariano Pensotti (Buenos Aires) and organized by Copenhagen Metropolis, which is a festival for performing arts in the cities streets.

Pimp My Ride! | Hermes Chopper For A Taxi | Born Rich

2009-08-13T10:49:00.001+02:00

via bornrich.org

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When time is money, and you have plenty of it, this is the preferred way to travel. "Japanese Mori Building Co is set to launch a 30-minute helicopter and limo service between the central district of Akasaka and Narita International Airport that will cut the travel time by an hour. Moreover, the commuters will enjoy a luxury travel lying comfortably on the rich-brown calf-leather seats of the $10 million EC135 by French luxury brand Hermes. Hailed as “l’Helicoptere par Hermes,” the luxury chopper will take about 22 flights a day and charge $790 (75,000 yen) for a one-way trip." (Bornrich.org)

Obviously not for all of us, but when faced with the inconvenience of sitting in traffic versus flying above it I know which one most executives would prefer. Recently there have been other premium forms of business travel such as the luxury limo bus that includes wireless internet, desks, power outlets and leather chairs. see http://www.bauerswi-drive.org

As they say on Dragons Den, if you can save people time and provide convenience your surely onto something interesting.

Love this concept | Build your own bike | Urban Outfitters Bike Shop

2009-08-12T14:02:00.001+02:00

via bikes.urbanoutfitters.com

Here's a great concept building upon the increasing number of people self-propelling themselves to work each day. The Urban Outfitters Bike Store allows you to customize pretty much every component of your bike. The site tells you the expected build time and for a standard price of $399 USD. I just wish they delivered to international destinations.

Hopefully a few other manufacturers of products that also consist of several components that are interchangeable and modular take note.

Sample One: Why we need to take presentations to a higher level!

2009-08-10T15:30:00.001+02:00

<table style='font:11px arial; color:#333; background-color:#f5f5f5' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' width='360' height='353'><tbody><tr style='background-color:#e5e5e5' valign='middle'><td style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;'><a target='_blank' style='color:#333; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com'>The Daily Show With Jon Stewart</a></td><td style='padding:2px 5px 0px 5px; text-align:right; font-weight:bold;'>Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c</td></tr><tr style='height:14px;' valign='middle'><td style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;' colspan='2'<a target='_blank' style='color:#333; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;' href=''>Chuck Grassley's Debt and Deficit Dragon<a></td></tr><tr style='height:14px; background-color:#353535' valign='middle'><td colspan='2' style='padding:2px 5px 0px 5px; width:360px; overflow:hidden; text-align:right'><a target='_blank' style='color:#96deff; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/'>www.thedailyshow.com</a></td></tr><tr valign='middle'><td style='padding:0px;' colspan='2'></td></tr><tr style='height:18px;' valign='middle'><td style='padding:0px;' colspan='2'><table style='margin:0px; text-align:center' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='0' width='100%' height='100%'><tr valign='middle'><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'><a target='_blank' style='font:10px arial; color:#333; text-decoration:none;' href='http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes'>Daily Show<br/> Full Episodes</a></td><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'><a target='_blank' style='font:10px arial; color:#333; text-decoration:none;' href='http://www.indecisionforever.com'>Political Humor</a></td><td style='padding:3px; width:33%;'><a target='_blank' style='font:10px arial; color:#333; text-decoration:none;' href=''>Spinal Tap Performance</a></td></tr></table></td></tr></tbody></table>

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What the F**K is Social Media: One Year Later

2009-08-10T14:19:00.001+02:00

via slideshare.net

For those of you that get-it, this is a nice little refresher, for those that are interested, this will help you better understand, and for those that doesn't understand what the hell social media is all about and why they need to know about it, this is for you.

Lowering the friction | Charging Up Nissan's Electric Car Without Wires : TreeHugger

2009-08-10T13:32:00.001+02:00

via treehugger.com

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By taking out of some of the consumer friction, Nissan's engineers have made it easier for consumers to park their cars and have their batteries recharged without the hassle of plugging them in. The recharging is completed through the principal of electromagnetic induction, "when two coils (one on the ground and one under the car) come into proximity, a charge can be transferred from a power supply to the battery. It takes a few seconds for the primary and secondary coils to recognize each other, but once they do, the system could charge the small electric vehicle (above) in three hours." Treehugger.

The implications of this could be huge, imagine for a second that each parking spot or parking garage had these electric induction coils under the pavement, so that when you paid to park your car it would automatically recharge your batteries. A point of differentiation for carparks maybe? Just stick a windmill on the roof and away you go, green parking.

Engaging customers through co-creation | Nike Awards

2009-07-31T18:24:00.001+02:00

Via akqa.com

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Creative way to engage your customers by having them design the shoes they want. Customers upload a photo to the Nike website via MMS, then the two most dominant colors are used to color your personalized Nikes. Great Idea that empowers users and their technology.

Any other good examples out there?

Cool integration of old and new | electronic ruler | shay shafranek

2009-07-28T13:19:00.001+02:00

Shay's webpage: shayshafranek.com

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A cool ruler that uses the conductive properties of the lead pencil to measure the distance between points. Great for architects or technical drawing. Best of all I think this is a great example of integrating a new technology into an old one, without losing any of the function or form of the ruler.

Who said guerrilla marketing couldn't be free? | Salvation Army No Cost Campaign

2009-07-24T12:14:00.001+02:00

Spotted on Springwise

Website:salvationarmydonate.org

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This is a great example of guerrilla marketing, known as the "This Ad Cost Nothing" campaign, the three-week initiative was designed primarily to raise awareness for the Salvation Army's Northern New England division. It was conceived and created in Portland, Maine, by local agency VIA Group, which turned to area businesses for help carrying it out. Part of the campaign included broadcast time and print ad space donated by traditional media; the majority, however, employed less conventional tactics. Pizza boxes and coffee sleeves were transformed into ad space for displaying the Salvation Army's logo and URL, for example, as were bathroom mirrors at local restaurants—with the help of a little grease paint. VIA employees and willing friends parked their intentionally dusty cars in downtown Portland, with the logo and slogans written on their back windshields, while dozens of shops sported the logo on their own windows as well. Painted rocks, tarps and tennis court floors were also among the more than 5,000 "creative units" included in the campaign.

Checkout the website and see some of the creative examples, some inspiration for the rest of us.

Dezeen » Blog Archive » House in Nagoya by Suppose Design Office

2009-07-20T20:34:00.001+02:00

See more at the webpage: dezeen.com

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A great piece of design work, I love way the designer has brought nature in from the outside and placed it on the inside. I really like how the garden is integrated into the clean minimalistic design of the house, creating both a visually unique and different living space which allows the residents to feel a closer association with the garden.

I really like it. Check out the link for more pictures from the house.

Superman's washing day undershirt | RipTFusion |

2009-07-20T09:58:00.001+02:00

website: riptfusion.com

Ever wondered why superman looked so good when ripping off his shirt, well here's the answer. RipT is a new body-sculpting undershirt for us guys looking to keep our abs looking a little slimmer. Taking a slice out of the sports apparel market, the tee has a cotton upper portion (chest & arms) while around the stomach region is a combination of poly and spandex to enhance the body sculpturing effect. The site claims that the tee will shave inches off your belly and enhance your posture, and for the price of nearly $60, it should also take you to the gym and work out for you as well.

All be said it's nice to see someone rethinking the plain old white tee, much has been done to the print or design, but it's not often we see a change to the function of the t-shirt. So bon voyage to your old saggy, grey, undershirt and say hello to RipT.

Cool infographic on Low Fare Airlines | 5W Graphics

2009-07-20T09:24:00.001+02:00

via flickr.com

Always on the lookout for new and better way on displaying complex information, this infographic from 5W Graphics gives a better understanding of how certain airlines keep their prices down. If you have any other infographics or would like to share some of your own please send them to me to post.

Posted via web from Killer Presentations

Disruptive technologies force innovation on the incumbents | Nissan Introduces New Dual Injector System

2009-07-17T10:00:00.001+02:00

Full article: nissan-global.com

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On the arrival of new technologies, incumbent firms are usually slow and unwilling to take notice. For the car industry electric powered cars have been extremely disruptive, no one has been better at jumping on this that Toyota, whereas GM was too busy listening to its core customers to see what was coming and has since paid a high price.

However, on the introduction of new and disruptive technologies incumbent technologies get a breath of fresh air, and are often drained of every single ounce of efficiency before their death. We have seen this type of behavior throughout history, one well documented example wass when steam engines were introduced to the shipping industry, which at the time was sail powered. Over the following years there were great improvements and innovation in sail powered vessels, until the efficiencies and cost associated with steam gave steam powered vessels the competitive edge.

In this example, the conventional gasoline engine gets a dose of innovation through the development of a dual injector system. The new injector system improves the fuel efficiency of the engine by 4% and also reduces the need for rare metals by up to 75%, what this means is an overall cost reduction of 60% in comparison to similar engine types. Quite impressive!

These latest innovations are part of the "Blue Citizenship" initiative of Nissan to protect our blue planet and be a better corporate citizen, one I believe all companies should be aiming towards. There are great benefits for organizations and the like focusing on more sustainable innovations.

Anyone have any other examples?

Reality Checklist: Are You Making Meaning? | OPEN Forum

2009-07-15T17:52:00.001+02:00

Full article: beta.openforum.com

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A great article by Guy Kawasaki about the value of making meaning. In this short article Guy argues that companies should focus on making meaning and not focusing on making profits, as the latter attracts people with the wrong mindset, that of a quick buck and name to put on their CV.

In short, Guy describes four primary ways to make meaning:
1. Enable people to do things they could not do before;
2. Enable people to do things they were already doing but now in a much better way;
3. End bad things like violence, pollution, oppression and evil; and
4. Perpetuate good things that foster emotions such as joy, mastery and fun.

By making meaning Guy argues that contrary to popular belief you won't be stuck in poverty but rather you'll be making money, a natural consequence of making meaning.

A good read and something all of us should ask of ourselves and of the companies we work for.

Posterous introduces new geotagging feature for your photos!

2009-07-14T13:26:00.001+02:00

A really cool way to visualize complex problems | mondaydots: why dots

2009-07-13T16:32:00.001+02:00

To see more examples and uses go to: mondaydots.com

Jeff Monday, author of Mondaydots.com, gives us a great way of visualizing complex problems, concepts, issues, solutions, or whatever in the form of dots.

The use of dot's encourage the presenter to follow a follow some of PresentationZen and Slideology fundamentals such as Restraint, Simplicity and Naturalness. By only using Dot's the presenter is encouraged to ensure lot's of Clean Space to allow the audience to focus on the movement, action or story of the dots. There also needs to be a sense of Harmony in the presentation by letting the dots tell the story as opposed to bullet points, clip art or other notorious 'death-by-powerpoint' elements.

Finally, I believe dots is an excellent method of communication because of the inherent simplicity of a dot(s) and its ability to convey potentially complex messages in a more easily understandable manner.

I look forward to your comments.

How to Become a Better Manager … By Thinking Like a Designer | MIT Sloan - Design Thinking

2009-07-12T20:33:00.003+02:00

Download now or preview on posterous

50410SxW.pdf (427 KB)

A nice little read. Nancy Duarte and Garr Reynolds, two of my favorite authors of presentation and design, provide some insight into how managers can use some of the principals and concepts of design in their daily roles. The main takeaways for what managers can learn from designers are:

Gurr:

Embrace restraint
Take a risk
Question everything
It's not about tools, it's about ideas.

Nancy:

Hierarchy
Balance
Contrast
Clear space
Harmony

One of the best quotes from the interview is from Garr, answering the question What are the most common problems a non-designer manager is likely to stumble into when he or she is trying to think like a designer?, "In business we are all scared of being called "too simplistic." People confuse simplicity, which is hard to achieve, with simplistic, which is easy and usually lacks value."

Thoughts...?

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How to Become a Better Manager … By Thinking Like a Designer | MIT Sloan - Design Thinking

2009-07-12T20:33:00.001+02:00

Download now or preview on posterous

50410SxW.pdf (427 KB)

Gurr:

Embrace restraint
Take a risk
Question everything
It's not about tools, it's about ideas.

Nancy:

Hierarchy
Balance
Contrast
Clear space
Harmony

Thoughts...?

The A-Z guide to getting your ass off the couch and becoming a freelance web designer | Smashing Magazine

2009-07-11T22:53:00.001+02:00

Full Article: smashingmagazine.com

Great article for all those that are thinking about, or would like to become a freelance web designer or anyone that wants to become self-employed. Heaps of good tips, websites, and other reference material to help you get started, including the following topics:

1. Do the necessary research
2. Become a brand
3. Create a portfolio website
4. Build legal documents
5. Find a starting wage & budget
6. Create a résume
7. Find "portfolio building" clients
8. Create (and stick to) a schedule
9. Create a business plan
10. Know how to gain recognition
11. Blog often, but pay attention to the quality of your posts
12. Get into the community of Freelance web designers
13. Reinvest the income
14. Get a professional space, and
15. Keep learning new tricks.

Why You Need to Fail - Peter Bregman - HarvardBusiness.org

2009-07-10T22:39:00.001+02:00

Why You Need to Fail

5:51 PM Monday July 6, 2009

"Peter, I'd like you to stay for a minute after class." Calvin teaches my favorite body conditioning class at the gym.

"What'd I do?" I asked him.

"It's what you didn't do."

"What didn't I do?"

"Fail."

"You kept me after class for not failing?"

"This," he began to mimic my casual weight lifting style, using weights that were obviously too light, "is not going to get you anywhere. A muscle only grows if you work it till it fails. You need to use more challenging weights. You need to fail."

Calvin's onto something.

Every time I ask a room of executives to list the top five moments their career took a leap forward — not just a step, but a leap — failure is always on the list. For some it was the loss of a job. For others it was a project gone bad. And for others still it was the failure of a larger system, like an economic downturn, that required them to step up.

Yet most of us spend a tremendous effort trying to avoid even the possibility of failure.

According to Dr. Carol Dweck, professor at Stanford University, we have a mindset problem. Dweck has done a tremendous amount of research to understand what makes someone give up in the face of adversity versus strive to overcome it.

It turns out the answer is deceptively simple. It's all in your head.

If you believe that your talents are inborn or fixed, then you will try to avoid failure at all costs because failure is proof of your limitation. People with a fixed mindset like to solve the same problems over and over again. It reinforces their sense of competence.

Children with fixed mindsets would rather redo an easy jigsaw puzzle than try a harder one. Students with fixed mindsets would rather not learn new languages. CEOs with fixed mindsets will surround themselves with people who agree with them. They feel smart when they get it right.

But if you believe your talent grows with persistence and effort, then you seek failure as an opportunity to improve. People with a growth mindset feel smart when they're learning, not when they're flawless.

Michael Jordan, arguably the world's best basketball player, has a growth mindset. Most successful people do. In high school he was cut from the basketball team but that obviously didn't discourage him: "I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career, I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game wining shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

If you have a growth mindset, then you use your failures to improve. If you have a fixed mindset, you may never fail, but neither do you learn or grow.

In business, we have to be discriminating about when we choose to challenge ourselves. In high risk, high leverage situations, it's better to stay within your current capability. In lower risk situations, where the consequences of failure are less, better to push the envelope. The important point is to know that pushing the envelope, that failing, is how you learn and grow and succeed. It's your opportunity.

Here's the good news: you can change your success by changing your mindset. When Dweck trained children to view themselves as capable of growing their intelligence, they worked harder, more persistently, and with greater success on math problems they had previously abandoned as unsolvable.

A growth mindset is the secret to maximizing potential. Want to grow your staff? Give them tasks above their ability. They don't think they could do it? Tell them you expect them to work at it for a while, struggle with it. That it will take more time than the tasks they're used to doing. That you expect they'll make some mistakes along the way. But you know they could do it.

Want to increase your own performance? Set high goals where you have a 50-70% chance of success. According to Psychologist and Harvard researcher the late David McClelland, that's the sweet spot for high achievers. Then, when you fail half the time, figure out what you should do differently and try again. That's practice. And according to recent studies, 10,000 hours of that kind of practice will make you an expert in anything. No matter where you start.

The next class I did with Calvin, I doubled the weight I was using. Yeah, that's right. Unfortunately, that gave me tendonitis in my elbow, which I'm nursing with rest and ice. Sometimes you can even fail when you're trying to fail.

Hey, I'm learning.

website: blogs.harvardbusiness.org

A great article that I think every entrepreneur, student, employee, etc. can relate to. Comments are most welcome!

Any other good analogies?

Single guys household item | Ironing Board Mirror by Therese Glimskär » Yanko Design

2009-07-10T21:55:00.001+02:00

Website: yankodesign.com

For all single guys out there looking to save space and add a little functionality to their ironing board, designer Therese Glimskär gives you the Reflecting Ironing Board. One side - Ironing board other side - Mirror! Extremely simple way of making use of your ironing board without it just collecting dust in your cupboard.

I want one!